Wall-crack cutting router



Aug. 22, 1933. D, F MCLAREN 1,923,159

WALL CRACK CUTTING ROUTER Filed Aug. 7. 1929 l h-llllllli-l-l-nlllllll INVENTOR. Daniel FMLar-ez QB -B TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALL-,CRACK CUTTING ROUTER.

Daniel'F. McLain-en, Glen Cpve, N. Y'. `Amlicammn August i, 1929, serial. No.. 384,070

13` Claims. (Cl.

My present invention relates to a device for cutting out or routing vcracksv inplas'ter walls, and has forits Aprincipal object the provision of a controlled, automatic ymeans whereby to eliminate laboriousY Ahand cutting upon plaster Walls, which are lto be repaired.

As is well known, old" plas/ter walls become filled with cracl's diie tosettling of buildings, shrinkage cf plaster etcetera, 'and when it is desired to paint or paperthesame it is necessary to rake er cut out the plaster' `from both sides of the cracks by a suitable hand tool; thereafter the cut-out cracks are moistened, filled and replastered to a sinoothnish. Then the pointed cracks may befshellacked, primed, papered or painted, as desired, leaving the wall unbroken, smooth and free of cracks.

One of the objects ofniy improvement is to provide a crack cutting orrouting device wherein a special forxnof cutter is motorized to pro- Vide for easy and rapid'removal of the material from the cracks, for replastering. Y

Another obji ct of y improvement is to provide means in conjunction'therewith whereby to remove plaster and cuttingfdebrs, during the cutting operation,rv and deposit the same in a suitable receptacle so that the work of' crackcutting may be done in rapid, eiicient and clean manner, without leaving Aany residue or dust, thereby obviating the necessity of room cleaning, Aafter the crack-,cutting operation has been completed. A

Another object of my improvement is to provide a means of the'lcharacter described which is'light in weight, easily handled, with `convenient starting means, rapid in'operatiom-and which, VasY a tool of kthe kind described, will be economical to manufacture and therefore low in cost.

These and other capabilities will be apprehended as the'herein description proceeds, and it is obvious that modifications may be made in the herein structure without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims. Y

In the drawing: 1 A

Fig. -,1 is an end elevation of the cutter cap plate removed. v

Fig. 2,is partly a side elevation thereof and partly asection, takenon the line 2-2, Fig. 1, looking in the direction'of the arrows.

Fig. 3A is a fragmentary plan view A,taken from the top of Fig.`"2',' lc )ok in4gl downward, principally showing the universal raldjujstabilit'y of the handle portion.'

my device with` Fig. 4 is an Venlarged fragmentary View of parts of my device showing one' form of cutter therein'and the type of groove cut' inthe wall thereby. i

Fi'g.Y 5 is a fragmentary view showing a Vdiffer- 60` ent 4forin of cutter.

AMy device is fully shown in Figs. l and 2A, and it comprise-s essentially, as in 1`1ig'j2, an electric motor vl't'vhich is enclosed ina housing 2, the housing being provided at its forward end with 65 a cylindrical open ended'flange portion'B shown partially in section in yFig'.` 2. Upon'said cyline drical flange`3 'is' removablyfmounted a gear and suetien'blower casing'4,"the saine being of a contour whereby it has an enlarged open ycylindriCalI end 5, the lower end of .which isspli'twand has'two bosses' and 7 thereon, as in Fig.'1`, and being joined together by a bolt and nut 8, whereby 'the open end 'of the casing'5 may be clampablyV associated to the cylindrical extensioni `3" of the motor( This` provides removable means for assembly and disassembly "of the geared lowercasing 4`for repair and interior inspection,` when desired.`

The casing '4 isvprowvided with a plurality of 30 bearings for mounting the' requisite gear' train and blower' fan'm'ans, as will hereinafter be described. It is also provided, at its front or outer end', with a reduced'cylindricalpertien 9 upon which is affixed a cover orcap plate 10 and, S5 as indicated'in Fig. 1`, the' cylindrical portion 9Y isf provided 4with three lugs 11` which are bored and tapped to receive cap screws which engage corresponding ears upon" the cap 10 to lock said cap` upon 'the' cylindrical eiitension 9L 90 The motor shaft 12',v at its' forwardend, lis mounted in a bearinglS, Fig'. 2, shown dotted, and which is suitably"afiied to the interior surface of the cylindrical portion 3 ofthe ca sing F and (an extension of this shaft' 12 has mounted 9i" thereupon, infkeyed relation thereto, a pinion 14. A further ex'tens'ion'of theY shaft 12 extends f or wardly in reduced dia'rneter',"'as`at 15, Fig. `2, and'upon this reduced extension is keyed a rotatable blo`wer fan4 l'by' a'key '17,' showndetted in Fig. 2 and in full lines in Fig. 1. Y InV the'v interior' Aof the 'casing '4 and integral therewith is Van inner cylindrical portion`-18 in the interior of' which is V'loca'ted'the saidblower l 16, and 'the "exterior walls'o'f whichmerge, as 105 indicated in lig.V 1,` with a 'completely enclosed duct'le which merges wnrthefeylindfipal chamT ber 1e' ana'extends downwardly; as `in Figi, into a cylindrical extension 20 havingheads 2l provide a seat for holding means in the form of a flexible wire ring 21 to engage thereto the neck of a suitable porous dust collecting bag or receptacle 22 which may be of fabric, paper or similar porous material, whereby to form, as will hereinafter be described in detail, a collecting bag for the debris that is dislodged by the action of the toothed, rotary cutter means and air carried into said bag by the action of the blower. y Y' The outer wall of the blower chamber 18 merges with the outer cylindrical extension 9, thereby forming two distinct chambers, in one of which the blower 16 revolves and in the other of which the crank cutter 23 revolves.

At the top of the inner chamber 18 is arranged a bearing 24, bestshown in Fig. 2, which in turn mounts a shaft 25 therein, upon one end of which is located a gear 26 which normally is at all times in driving mesh with the pinion 14. The outer end of the shaft 25 has mounted thereon a disk-like toothed crack cutter 23 having peripheral teeth and which is suitably afxed thereto by a nut 27 which is tightened upon the threaded end of the shaft 25 against collars, as shown, with the cutter member 23 therebetween, thereby to hold the cutter in rotative driving position.

Thus, as described, operation ofthermotor operates a reducing gear train and, in detail, the motor drives the pinion 14 and this in turn drives gear 26 and shaft 25 drives cutter 23, thus reducing the speed of the cutter and increasing its power for the purpose of crack routing.

Simultaneously with the operation of the above noted gear train and cutter, the motor 12 causes the blower 16 to operate in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 1, thus creating a suction in the blower chamber which, in turn reacts to create a'suction -within the cutter chamber in the housing 9 and such suction causes air and other matter, such as dust and debris, which is removed from a Wall, tol be passed through the aperture 28 shown in the lowerportion of the chamber 9 in the wall 18 between the cutter and blower, and thence to the porous collecting bag.r

Due to the mounting of the cutter, as is indicated in Figs. l and 2, the upper end thereof projects a suflicient distance beyond the cutter opening 29 provided in the upper part'of the plaster wall which is being raked the desiredv distance into the skim coat of plaster upon the wall.

' The cutter vrevolves in the direction of the arrow D, Fig. 1, and the inclined teeth of said cut ter project into the plaster and crack, as directed by hand, to rake out the groove B, in any desired form and, in accordance with the cutter teeth contour or the arrangement of the cutter, upon the shaft 25. l

In some forms of cutters the cutter may be arrangedyupon the shaft or arbor 25 in strictly vertical alinement therewith and the cutterV may have yperipheral raking, angular teeth 30, as indicated in Fig. 5, whereupon the groove to be cut by s uch cutter will be of V-shape, aslindicated by that portion of the cutter entering the plaster wall C, Fig. 5.

Conversely, thecutter 23, as in Figs. 2Y and 4,

may have the teeth of cutter width and substantially square ended, as at 3l, Fig. 4, and the said cutter may be mounted upon the shaft 25 in a slightly angular relation by two angle collars 32 and 33, Fig. 4, whereby the circular square ended tooth cutter 23 may be slightly inclined relative to the axis of the shaft 25, and thereby cause the cutter to appear to wabble from side to side during rotative cutting action, as indicated in the full and dotted lines 34, Fig. 4, thereby creating a larger groove B, Fig. 4, due to the rotation of the rotary cutter 23 when so arranged. This is known as wabble saw cutting and may be used for eliminating cracks of considerable breadth Whereas the cutter, as indicated in Fig. 5, may be utilized to rout out hair line cracks in the wall which do not require large removal .of the material adjacent said lines.

As a means for operatively holding the device during operation thereof, a pivoted, eircularly mounted handle 35 is provided, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and this handle is so pivoted to and mounted by a cylindrical clamping ring 36 upon the stem 3'7 integral with lug 39 which is integral with the tubular member 19, that thehandle 35 may be either rotatably moved about the stem 36,7as indicated by the position; 46, 41, shown dotted in Fig. 3, or it may be pivotally movedvertically vrelative thereto, or both, as indicated by the dotted position 42, Fig. i, and clamped to desired adjusted position by a stud and clamp nuts 43, 44, Figs. l and 3, whereby said handle may be moved in. any desired positionrelative to the implement 1'10 itself and lockably clamped in such desired position for convenience in holding the implement and guiding the cutter to the work.

The handle may be also provided with a switch button 45 which is in switch-like connec- 115 tion with wiring 46, Fig. 1, which wiring in turn connects to the two terminals 47, 48 of thc motor whereby the wiring being flexible will permit universal movement of the handle, as described, and the switch means 45 will be in 120 proper position for manual operation to cause the motor to-start and stop, as desired. It is understood that the wiring 46 is connected to a suitable source of electric current supply, preferably any household current tap, not shown.

Thus, it will be noted I have provided a power driven means for crack raking or routing which works rapidly and efliciently to cut any encountered crack in the Wall, to rout in any desired width with a groove, either V-shaped 130 or rectangular, as desired, and that I have also provided means whereby operation of the cutter member in plaster walls will operate simultaneously therewith a suction blower which will draw the loosened vdebris from the crack cutting position of the cutter through and down -into debris collecting bag 22 of porous nature, which passes the air therefrom and retains all of the dust and debris removed by the cutter.

It is obvious that this device will operate quickly, saving time, doing away with manually laborious .cutting operations heretofore utilized, and collecting the dirt within the device, thereby preventing the littering of the room in which the work is being done and obviating the subsequent cleaning of the room. t v 1 t The bag, after it has been lled, may be re#- nioved and emptied, and then again replaced upon the exhaust extension tube 2O for further reuse. 'I'he cutter 23 may be removed at 150 a debris conducting duct extending from said .any time and replaced by another by removal of the cap plate 10 and removal and replacement of any desired cutter, and the cap plate then again replaced.

It wili valso be noted thatthe cutter is so relatively arranged in the mounting that `its upper and outer end is permitted to cut into the wall a reasonable depth and that the cutter carry through its opening 29, theY debris thus removed down to its lower position, at whichpoint the lower cutter teeth pass by the air suction opening 28 and that the air suction inducedby the blower 16 enters through the cutter opening 29 in the upper end of the housing 9 and thence passes downwardly, as previously described, to the bag 22. f

g thus described my invention, what claim is: Y

1. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter ldriven thereby, a suction air blower driven by said motor, and lmeans for connecting to the discharge end of the blower a porous collector for collecting the debris loosened by said' cutter and impelledV by said lower into said collector.V

2. A mechanical crack routerV comprising an electrically driven motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, geared speed reducing means between .the motor .and the cutter, a-suction fan driven said motor, one or more casings sur-rounding the motor; cutter, speed reducing means and ian, and a debris conducting duct extending from .said casings and having thereon a means for connecting thereto a removable debris collecting means.

3. A mechanical crack router comprising an electrically driven motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, geared speed reducing means between the motor and the cutter, a suction fan driven by said motor, one or more casings surrounding the motor, cutter, speed reducing means and fan, a debris conducting duct extendingl from said casings, `and an adjustable handle connected to a part ofrsaid router.

i. A mechanical crack router comprising an electricallyy driven motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, geared speed reducing means between the motor and the cutter,y a suction fan driven by said motor, one or more casings surrounding the motor, cutter, speed reducing means and ian,

casings, an adjustable handle connected to a part of said rout-er and a switch carried by Said handle.

5. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means removing to a suitable collecting means the ebris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said cutter, a device for producing a suction, positioned exteriorly of said casing and portably joined debris loosened by the cutter, a casing encompassing said cutter, a device for producing a suction, positioned exteriorly of said casing and portaoly joined thereto, and an outlet, in said the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said suction device and therethrough to said collecting means, said suction device collectconsisting of a fan casing and an impeller driven by said motor.

'7. .A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, ,a crack cutter driven thereby, means for removing to a suitable collecting the debris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing encompassing said cutter, a device for producing a suction positioned exteriorly oi said casing, and outlet in said casing for the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said .suction deviceand thorethrough to said collecting means, said suction .device consisting 0I a suction ian, comprising a .casing and an impeller, riven by said inotor, and said cutter casing being portably joined :to said ian casing, said `ian impeller being direct connected to said motor, and a speed reducing means interposed between the motor and the cutter, whereby the speed oi said cutter is reduced with relation to said Vian impeller.

8.. A mechanical crack router comprising an electrically driven motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, geared speed reducing means between the motor and the cutter, a suction fan driven by motor, one or more casings surrounding the motor, cutter, speed reducing means and ian, `and a debris conducting duct extending from said casings and `having 'thereon a means for connecting thereto a removable debris collecting means, said casings including a housing for said `ian, a gear casing and av suction fan casing removably mounted on said housing, and said debris removing duct extending from said fan casing.

9. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means for removing to a suitable collecting means the debris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said cutter, a device for producing a suction, positionu ed exteriorly of said casing and portably joined thereto, and an outlet in said casing for the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said suction device and therethrough to said collecting means, said suction device consisting of a suction fan comprising a casing and an impeller, driven by said motor, and said cutter casing being portably joined to said fan casing, said motor being enclosed by a housing, and said fan casing having thereon a part, removably clamped to said housing.

10. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means for removing to a suitable collecting means the debris loosened by the cu ter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said cutter, a device lorv producing a suction, positioned exteriorly oi said casing and port-ably joined thereto, and an outlet in said casing for the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said suction device and Vtherethrough to said collecting means, said suction device consisting of a suction fan, comprising a casing and an lud impeller, driven by said motor, and said cutter casing being portably joined to said fan casing,

11. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means for removing to a suitable collecting means the debris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said cutter, adevice for producing a suction, `positioned exteriorly of said casing and portably joined thereto, and an outlet in said casing for the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said suction device and therethrough to said collecting means, said suction device consisting of a suction fan, comprising a casing and an impeller, driven by said motor, and said cutter casing being portably joined to said fan casing,

`a handle, universally-pivotally connected to a part on one of said casings and a means for detachably securing said handle thereto.

' 12. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means for removing to a suitable collecting means the debris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said cutter, a device -for producing a suction, posi tioned exteriorly of said casing and portably joined thereto, and an outlet in ysaid casing for the discharge therefrom of dust and debris to said suction device and therethrough to said collecting means, said suction device consisting of a suction fan, comprising a casing and an impeller, driven by said motor, and said cutter casing being v'portably joined to said fan casing, combined with a handle, universally-pivotally connected to a part on one of said casings and a means for detachably securing said handle thereto, said casing part having thereon a stem, combined with a split clamping ring, frictionally pivotally connected to a lpart on said handle and sWivelled on said stem, and a means for tightening said ring on to said stem and handle part, whereby said handle is universally pivotally connected to said casing and detachably 'secured thereto.

13. A mechanical crack router comprising a motor, a crack cutter driven thereby, and means for removing to a suitable collecting means the debris loosened by the cutter, said removing means comprising a casing, encompassing said 

